The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) announced Monday that it has issued 16 additional Red Notices to assist in the arrest of additional suspects linked to the murder
of senior Hamas
figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, bringing the total to 27.

The organization stressed that it had not issued international arrest warrants.

Interpol Secretary-General Ronald Noble said that a thorough investigation by the Dubai police established a clear link between the passport records and the security footage, as well as DNA, evidence from eyewitnesses, credit card records and phone calls.

According to a statement on the Interpol website, the decision was made at the request of the United Arab Emirates authorities. The pictures of the 16 additional suspects were updated on the website, which details the offenses attributed to them.

Dubai police present: Suspect's travel routes

The investigation into the Mabhouh assassination has yet to yield new findings, although the Dubai police insist that they have obtained DNA samples of the assassins. Police chief Dhahi Khalfan Tamim on Friday vowed to resign
from his post if this claim proves to be false.

"I challenge Israel
to bring the suspects there in order to undergo a DNA test and compare them with the samples we have," he said in an interview to the UAE-based al-Khaleej newspaper.

"If it turns out that the results do not match, I will resign. You can lie about anything, but not about DNA," he added.

Meanwhile, the joint international investigation into the affair continues. Australian investigators arrived in Israel last week in order to probe the use of Australian passports belonging to three Israelis during the Dubai operation. Several hours after landing in Israel, the investigators were said to have been involved in a hit-and-run accident
in Tel Aviv.